Elderflower Champagne Recipe

We looked at lots of different recipes but finally settled on this one which seemed to have the right balance of science and annecdote, plus if 4 generations have successfully quaffed these results it can't be bad! Thanks to Hedging Your Bets for the following:

You will need (to make 10-12 litres): 

• a really clean container big enough for the mix (large bucker, bin, brewing tub etc)
• a clean cloth (muslin is best) to cover said container
• strong bottles which will need to be sterilised at bottling time (the ones with spring closures are best, but screw capped fizzy drinks bottles work well)
• syphon tube (one with a clip or tap on the end is preferable)
  

Ingredients

• 35 elderflower heads - pick the ones with the strongest scent
• 2.5kg granulated sugar
• 2 proper tablespoons of white wine vinegar
• 5 litres boiling water & some cold water
• Juice and grated skin (zest) of 5 lemons - unwaxed if possible
• Juice and grated skin (zest) of 1 lime - also unwaxed

Instructions:

1. Dissolve the sugar in the boiling water then put in the large container and add cold water to make a total volume of between 7 and 8 litres.

2. Mix in the elderflowers, the white wine vinegar, the lemon and lime juice and their zests and stir the brew.

3. Cover the whole thing with the clean cloth (or use an airlock if you are a brewer) and put it in a cool place to ferment for two days. If, after a couple of days it has not started fermenting (easy to tell as there will be a foamy sort of scum on top) then add a pinch of dried yeast to get it going. Generally you will find that enough wild yeasts came in with the elderflowers for this not to be necessary.

4. Keep the container covered/airlocked and let the champagne carry on fermenting for another 4-5 days.

5. Using a winemakers sieve or the muslin you covered it with, strain the champagne into another container, let it settle for a couple of hours and siphon it into the sterilised bottles. Do make sure they can take a LOT of pressure. Seal the bottles tightly. N.B. If you are using plastic drinks bottles keep an eye out for ones that start bulging - if they do, loosen the cap to let some carbon dioxide out and then tighten again.

6. Leave it to ferment for at least another week after which it is delicious although it gets better with age. In nearly a hundred years the family has never found out how long it keeps - however much was made never lasted more than a year…

Enjoy ice cold